Chapter 58
Lu Shiyu blinked and suddenly felt a little awkward, as if something was strange but he couldn't tell what.
"You're not just saying this, are you?"
Realizing that what he had just said was inappropriate, Tang Zeyu wanted to make amends but didn't know what to say. During the moment hesitant moment, Lu Shiyu had already shrunk back into the sleeping bag, leaving him no chance to prepare an explanation. Tang Zeyu could only shut up silently and lie down beside her.
Time passed quickly and it was the next morning.
Professor Chen gave a bag of stones to a few people. Tang Zeyu took the bag and opened it. It was just a bag of very ordinary Yuhua stones, but they were dyed in bright colors.
"Can this thing help us get out?" Tang Zeyu picked up a stone to check. There were still traces of water on it because the paint was not applied evenly.
"That's right," Professor Chen said, pointing to the bag of colorful stones. "Actually, to get out, we just need to use a very simple method. Just make a mark."
"As you walk, throw stones in front of you as you go. Keep walking in that direction and make sure you walk in a straight line. If the trees move, you will be able to notice it immediately."
It really sounds like a simple and unpretentious method. Tang Zeyu put the stones back into the bag. This bag of stones was painted probably so that they could be seen immediately after being thrown on the ground, so as not to be confused with ordinary stones on the ground.
"Okay, it's getting late, we should leave," Tang Zeyu and the others put on their backpacks and said goodbye to Professor Chen. "We'll come say hello on our way back."
"One more thing," Professor Chen instructed the others before leaving: "If you meet my apprentice on the road, remember to give him directions. He didn't bring any stones with him that time, so he might have gotten lost."
"Well, we will."
Even though he knew that Professor Chen's apprentice might have met with an accident, Tang Zeyu chose not to mention that possibility.
The few of them were throwing stones as they walked. After a while, they found that they seemed to have encountered the tree they had seen before. When Lu Shiyu looked back, he saw that the stones a little further away had been disturbed. It was obvious that the tree there had moved after they left.
According to Professor Chen, there is no need to worry about the moving trees, just keep walking in one direction and you will be able to get out.
After walking for a distance, they found that the feeling of being trapped in a maze seemed to be weakening, and there were fewer and fewer strange trees that could move. It was estimated that it would not take long before they could walk out of the territory of the strange trees.
"It was so easy to get out," Shao Xingyang put his hands behind his head, "I thought it would be very troublesome."
Tang Zeyu weighed the half-remaining stone and said, "If it weren't for the method and stone provided by Professor Chen, it would have been very troublesome."
Yan Hong looked around as she walked. Occasionally, there were deformed creatures passing by, but she did not attack them. However, she did not see a single person along the way, let alone Professor Chen's apprentice.
After completely walking out of the forest full of strange moving trees, Tang Zeyu picked up the map again and began to look for the current location of the few people and estimate how far they were from the target.
"Go a little further and climb a hill and you'll arrive."
"Yeah! It's finally over!"
After Tang Zeyu marked the place on the map, he led a few people up the mountain.
There are usually no people coming and going here, and there is only mud that may cause people to slip and plants that grow in irregular patterns that are in the way. Climbing is naturally difficult, and you have no choice but to walk up the mountain in a "Z" shape. This diagonal way of walking can reduce the burden on the knees, save a lot of effort, and it is easier to maintain balance so as not to slip and fall halfway. Although it will take more time, the goal is within reach and it doesn't matter that much.
Everyone was carrying a heavy backpack, so when walking they had to push their center of gravity forward to avoid losing their balance and falling.
Yu was climbing up with her head down face down. From her perspective, it seemed as if she was walking on a road that had no end. She kept repeating the same actions, and the scene in front of her eyes was almost the same. Even if she looked up, she could not see the top of the mountain. The most tiring process of climbing was not the tiredness but the length of time. The fatigue accumulated little by little, and her legs, which had already adapted to long-distance travel, began to feel sore and weak again.
As the endless mountain road gave way, Yu imagined himself as the legendary Sisyphus who was punished to push a rock to the top of the mountain.
Once the atmosphere becomes oppressive, it will become even more torturous. Lu Shiyu was the first to break the stagnant silence.
"Well, after we find that thing, how are we going to get back?" Lu Shiyu asked breathlessly, "Do we still have to walk back?"
Tang Zeyu looked back at the sweaty Lu Shiyu, and after letting out a breath of air from his chest, he said, "Before I left, I agreed with the people at the base that when we get there, we'll cut down all the surrounding trees and clear a piece of land for the base's helicopter to land. Then we can take the helicopter back directly."
"Helicopter?" Lu Shiyu looked confused. "Didn't they say we can't take helicopters? We'd get pulled off by vines on the trees, and the gasoline for helicopters is too expensive..."
"That's why we need to clear the trees first so the helicopter can land safely. When we came here, no one helped us clear the trees, so we couldn't fly. Now we can create the conditions ourselves," Tang Zeyu said. "As for the gasoline, we'll use the public account. The base will provide the gasoline, so we don't have to pay for it."
"This, the base is so willing to spend money?"
"Even if they're reluctant, there's nothing they can do. Ultimately, this mission was requested by the lab team. They have to provide as many bases as they want. If the bases don't agree, they'll start saying things like they can't produce the results or that key information is missing. It's basically a strike. The biggest headache for them when they go on strike is for the bases eager to use their newly developed technology."
"It sounds like a sacrifice..."
"Who says it isn't?" Chen Yunliang said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Those labs always get the most funding. The base is truly willing to invest heavily in scientific research and development."
However, if one does not spend a lot of money to serve the ancestors, then those like Professor Chen who are not in the base all day and run around would have been fired long ago.
"I really envy those people in white coats who can easily earn money," Shaoxing Yang said casually, "I wish I could earn that easy money."
Yan Hong sneered, "You? Don't you have any idea of your own cultural level?"
"Yanhong, don't look down on Shaoxing Yang," Chen Yunliang said with a half-smile, "Although Shaoxing Yang is almost illiterate, at least he doesn't cause trouble."
"You have no idea how much trouble those second-generation rich kids who were stuffed into the lab by their families through connections can cause."
"Are you praising me or insulting me?"
…
As the group of people chatted with each other, the tiredness really eased a lot.
Finally, they reached the top of the mountain. Several people stood on the top to enjoy the mountain breeze and rest, while observing the surrounding situation.
In front of them was a basin-like structure, with raised mountains surrounding it to form a large pit. Tang Zeyu checked the map and determined that the place they were going to next was below.
However, the middle part of the basin is extremely tightly blocked by trees, and it is impossible to see what is underneath from above. No wonder it requires special personnel to conduct on-site investigations.
Once you get to the bottom, the scenery is completely different.
The leaves piled up on top of each other almost completely blocked out the sunlight from above, and only a few rays of light could barely penetrate through the gaps between the overlapping leaves.
Several people walked under the cover of thick and tall trees and began to discuss the arrangements after the mission was completed. It was obvious that they had already considered the mission to be completed in advance.
"Don't be too careless, stay alert," Tang Zeyu said to the chatting and laughing team members, "We've reached the edge of our target. What we encounter next may be the most dangerous part of this journey, so concentrate on your work and think about eating, drinking and having fun after the mission is completely completed."
"yes!"
The leisurely atmosphere faded away, and the mood began to grow heavy as no one spoke anymore. Everyone had a defensive look on their face, as if they were ready to be attacked at any moment.
Shaoxing Yang was highly focused and felt that no movement could escape his eyes.
Until the grass beside him suddenly moved.
"Ahhhhhhh! What is that?! There's something in the bushes!"
Shaoxing Yang was frightened because he was too nervous. When people heard his screams, they thought he had discovered something terrible and became tense.
Then, a chubby rabbit jumped out from the bushes, wiped its face with its front paws, turned its head and was frightened when it saw the terrifying people. It kicked hard and turned upside down, and has been silent since then.
"What the hell? Are you scared to death?"
Yan Hong went forward to pick up the rabbit on the ground, touched it, and confirmed that it was still alive, but was in a state of suspended animation due to excessive fear.
Yanhong picked up the rabbit and shook it in front of her.
"Is this the thing that frightened you so much that you screamed?"
Everyone looked at Shao Xingyang, who scratched his head embarrassedly: "Hehe, I didn't see clearly what it was just now..."
It was originally just a small episode. Yanhong was holding the rabbit and jokingly asked Shi Yu if he wanted to eat the rabbit. The poor rabbit didn't even know it was about to be put into the pot because it couldn't understand human language. It was still immersed in its own performance of pretending to be dead.
"We're going back soon, and we have more than enough food. There's no need to kill another one," Lu Shiyu said, taking the rabbit and looking at it for a few seconds before asking, "This rabbit looks just like any other rabbit."
"They just look alike," Yan Hong said, waving her hand. "Some aberrant creatures do look quite normal, but they're still aberrant creatures after all."
Lu Shiyu frowned slightly, feeling that something was wrong.
Lift up the lower eyelid, pry open the lower mouth, check the nose and paws, it seems that no matter from which angle you look at it, this is just an ordinary rabbit.
But outside the base where distorted creatures are rampant, normal is the biggest abnormality.
"I still think this is just a normal rabbit, not a freak creature."
Although Lu Shiyu couldn't explain the reason, she still insisted on her idea.
"You must be kidding me, there's no way there could be normal animals here."
Yan Hong completely disagreed with Lu Shiyu's statement. She had been out of the base so many times, but had never seen any creatures that were even remotely normal.
"Stop arguing. How about this," Chen Yunliang interrupted at the right moment, "I happened to dissect a normal rabbit when I was in school. Let me determine if this rabbit is normal or a freak. How about that?"
The two of them looked at the rabbit and said in unison: "Okay!"
"What's going on here?" Shao Xingyang approached Tang Zeyu and asked, "Captain, who do you think will win between the two of them?"
"They're not competing."
"Oh, of course they're not in the competition, but we can have a bet," Shao Xingyang said to Tang Zeyu with narrowed eyes and a smile, "Bet on it, Captain, do you want to play?"
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